Tycoon: Overused or Descriptive?

#1 Overused

#2 I gotta agree comp usa is getting so bad that they have their own 'tycoon' game section. It's moved from a subgenre to having enough games to be a genre of its own., That said i think the phrase preys on the casual gamer. It slaps whateve they're interests is in front of the word tycoon and then boom they get that person to buy it. That said some tycoon games are great Zoo and Roller Coaster. But then again they started it.

#3 Overused ... however it's recognizable.

#4 Many people look at the "Tycoon" games and think they are all part of an ongoing series (though many of them are not even the same company). This will cause your game to be overlooked by some as "just another tycoon game", and others will think "well, I liked Rollercoaster Tycoon and Zoo Tycoon, this must be by the same people!" (though even those two games were by different people).

I prefer using titles that stand on their own, but naming your game "Colonic Tycoon" could have its benefits...

#5 I'd avoid it unless you're specifically trying to attract the same audience as the other Tycoon titles.

some alternatives off-the-top-

baron / lord
magnate
prince / king / emperor etc
capitalist pig
mastermind / genius etc
wunderkind
virtuoso
giant


That's *Colon* Magnate to you !

#6 Colonic Irrigator

#7 Tycoon implies trying to create a corporate monopoly.

a game who's general premis is such would probably benifit from a "tycoon" title..

games that are NOT generally could be served better by a more descriptive title.

#8

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Colonic Irrigator

That is wrong on so many levels

#9 Personally, I would need to know more about your game concept in order to give it a fitting name. Although Tycoon could be used as a blanket name for many game premises, I think a specialized name based on the premise would fit better. If, for example, the game were about the corporate world or business ownership, then I think that a name like Mogul, Capitalist, or Industrialist would be a more fitting title. Or, you could think of a name for a game based on its objective, mixing premise in. For example, if you were making a tycoon game about ice cream, instead of calling it Ice Cream Tycoon, you could call it Cold Hard Cash...or something like that.

Otherwise, if the premise is different, I would suggest researching what they refer to their powerhouses as. However, if all else fails, I am sure Tycoon would be appropriate, especially because it brings brand recognition, even if you have nothing to do with any of the other tycoon games

#10 When I hear "...tycoon" I always think it's a spin off of the original tycoon game, whatever that is. Therefore, I have to take a closer look to see if it's made by the same company. It's definatley overused and if I was the original tycoon game creator I would have tried to patent that word when used in a simmilar way with a simmilar type of game. I just see it as a lack of originality.
-Ajari-

#11

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Colonic Irrigator

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That is wrong on so many levels

Think Pipe Dreams

#12 As far as I'm concerned, the word is borderline overused, but at the moment still descriptive enough to give consumers an idea of the gameplay and therefore still a powerful marketing tool that should be exploited for maximum returns.

The main issue is your other descriptive word in the title. At Le Target Boutique, I saw Carnival Cruise Tycoon and Mall of America Tycoon, neither of which interest me. The idea is to formulate a "tycoon" game with that name that immediately intrigues the buyer into checking it out.

There is nothing wrong with adding to an established or washed-out genre, the important key is adding that extra bit of your soul into it in order to make it SPECIAL.

#13 The only tycoon game I've ever played is Railroad Tycoon and I think that's the only one where the name really fits since it has a 1800s feel to it and the word tycoon was more common back then. I remember back when all tycoon type games were called Sim Something (sim city, sim ant, sim world, and now the sims). I think you could go without the word Tycoon. Until this post I was under the impression that they were all made by the same people and I wasn't really interested in any of them.

-Peter

#14 I would say it is overused, or the games are made too much.

you got moon base, zoo, theme park, safari, airport, train, city, lemonade... TYCOON
it goes on.

people will or already have got bored or fed up with it and some if they see or hear the name, ignore it, as some tycoons are all the same, with the same limits.

if anyone thinks of a original new game like a tycoon, yet not called tycoon, i'll give them credit for it.

#15 You know why its overused? Because it sells.

People that buy Tycoon games don't generally know that much about games, so they want to know what they are getting when they buy it. Using the word Tycoon in your name might drive off a few hard-core gamers because they don't like being reminded of "Mall Tycoon" and how it has destroyed their precious memories of Railroad Tycoon, but those people probably won't buy your game anyways. You'll gain A LOT more sales by adding a word to the name that casual gamers know and love. There's a reason that a third of the games on the shelf at Staples (a non-gamer's shopping location) are Tycoon games.

What's a title for anyways? Identifying your game to it's target market. If you are targeting at more hard-core gamers, try another name. But be careful, one of the best Tycoon-style games of last year (Outpost Kaloki) sold like crap because people didn't know what it was based on the title.

-Andy
(Wildlife Tycoon: Venture Africa)

#16 Thank you everyone for your thoughts on this. I have been talking to a lot of people on this (on and offline) and I find the answers fairly consistent. Hard-core gamers are generally very much against the word Tycoon.

My mindset is more inline with Andy's thoughts: I think the title, even though overused, clearly represents what the game is all about. Everyone I talked to that plays any kind of PC game at all were able to identify with the Tycoon title and could tell me what the game was about.

Oh, and funny you mentioned it, I *DID* play Outpost Kaloki and loved it. They should consider re-releasing it with a modified title in my opinion. It's very well made and quite creative.

#17 Glad to hear you see the light... at least the same way I do. ;) What are your plans for your Tycoon game?

#18 My family has been in the car business for as long as I can remember. They have owned everything from the little banner-laden used car lot on the corner to one the largest new car super-dealerships in town. Of course they wanted me to join their choice of profession but I was the black sheep and got into computers.

Anyway, I have access to a lot of insider information on how things are done and at times it can be pretty comical. My game is a light hearted look into the world of the car business.

The game focuses on two things: tycoon-style simplified business simulation and educating players on what happens behind the scenes.

Below is the intro paragraph from my design document:

Introduction
Buying a car can be an extremely stressful process. All of us have either experienced it directly or know someone that has: dealing with pushy salesmen and the wacky negotiation tactics. Now you can reverse the roles and put yourself on the other side of the negotiations and make your fortune as the owner of your own car dealership. AutoPlex Tycoon is a tycoon-style business strategy game that takes you behind the scenes to discover the secret life of car dealers as you learn the strategies of running a successful modern car business.

Now that you know, what do you think of the title?

#19 Simple business simulations are only as fun as you make them. Sounds like you'll probably nail the underlying system (which could def. be fun, IMO), but from what little I can tell by your description so far, it sounds like you need to go more over the top with the fun aspect to make people want to play (and forget that its just a simple business sim).

Why not call it Used Car Tycoon (Autoplex is a little obscure, I wasn't sure whether it was some sort of driving/racing tycoon game or car sales game), and have the main character be a crazy used car salesman that works his way up the chain to selling new Bentleys to the rich and famous? Marv the Used Car Salesman.

It will be easy to come up with fun marketing for a game thats about a salesman. (BUY BUY BUY! The Shevrolay Blow Out Sale starts today!)

The underlying stuff will make the game good... how fun you make it will make it sell. Can't wait to see more!

#20 @Andy - haha you almost hit the nail on the head! I didn't want to over do my response and sound like I was pitching the idea. I thought about Used Car Tycoon... I wasn't too keen on it at first but now that I see it written out, I like it. It really is much clearer and obvious.

My plan is to poke fun at the over the top behavior of the car industry with a light hearted feel and simple gameplay without the grind of a simulation, yet have the content be fairly factual.